Tour Code Tabu skates

[Gefiltefish 9]

2010 Tour Code Tabu roller hockey skates

Size: 10.0 D

About me: 260lbs, defenseman and intermediate skater.

League/surfaces: Second-tier league roller hockey twice a week year-round on a small waxed-wood floor. Second-tier league roller once a week on a NHL sized sport court surface April-June only. Weekly pick-up on the small wood surface.

Usage: Purchased in February ’10 so 8 months of use playing 3 times a week (about 100 games).

Fit – Tour skates always seem to have fit my foot very well. The toe cap, forefoot and ankle pocket width are very comfortable for me. They also have a fairly high volume. The only thing I noticed is that the size 10 on the Tabu’s seemed to fit slightly larger than my old Code Carbon’s in the same size. Perhaps it was just mental, but after a few skates, I realized I needed to go a half-size down. It was too late, so I simply laced up a bit tighter. Again, this may be 100% mental, but my older Code Carbon’s in the same size fit perfectly. I still have to give the fit a perfect rating and I never even have to bake them! The quarters and outsole are very stiff and I feel I loose zero power when striding. 10/10

Chassis/Wheels/Bearings – Tour really goes above and beyond here. The Labeda chassis is bulletproof. Despite its high-chrome paint job, it has virtually no marks at all. The 608-bearings by Bevo are much better than the mini-sized bearings and still roll quite and smooth despite being exposed to A LOT of dust on the sport court surface I played on. I only used the Labeda Addiction wheels on the sport court surface and they were decent (I am not reviewing them here though). 10/10

Weight /Protection – Surprisingly, the Tabu’s weighed in about 10 grams heavier per skate than my old Code Carbon’s. This was with no wheels/bearings/laces in the skates… Just boot/frame vs. boot/frame. 10 grams is not much, but I was still a little taken back at it…. Protection is very good. I have not taken a shot to side of the foot and had to limp away. I know some have had problems with the tongue not offerings shot protection, but I have not taken a shot off of that part of the skate yet. 10/10

Durability/ Intangibles – Things go south here a bit… Three things have worn out on these skates. First is the tendon guard. I am old school, so I wrap my laces and the tendon guard has gone very soft. I know I am in the minority of players that wrap laces that high, but the Tabu tendon guard went soft very quick when compared to my old Code Carbon’s. Second is the liner. Perhaps it is because my foot is moving around a bit in the boot, but the liners have worn through on the heel area of each skate. One skate has a hole all the way though about the size of your thumb nail and the other side has worn through about the size of your pinkie nail. One hole on the inside of the heel and the other on the outside of the heel. The third problem is the tongue. Tour tongues simply don’t get it done. The thin mesh design is nice and keeps you cool, but the foams get soft very easily. The indents from the laces really cause the little lace bite protection you had to go away very quickly. The good news is that the toe cap, scuff guards and outside of the boot are all holding up very well. Still, I am giving these a 6/10 since I had my Code Carbon’s for the same amount of time and the only thing that wore out was the tongue and some faulty outsole construction.

Intangibles cont.. (Appearance) – These skates look like poo in my opinion. I like to keep a fairly low profile and don’t like flashy equipment. Since these were the best skates offered by Tour, I had to make do with the chrome look. I hate it and feel like an ass every time someone starts commenting on their look. The real back-stabber is that Tour released the Tabu X-Factor which was less chrome only a month after I bought these skates… 5/10

Conclusion – These skates have taken a lot of abuse from a big heavy skater. Although that have not just smiled in my face and taken it like a champ, they still held up fairly well. I am on the fence on if I would purchase them again. They are on sale now and a good deal for around $300, but I would not pay the original $450 price tag again. 8.2/10